First Time for Everything
by Adreus
Summary: KH3D — "You'll protect lil'old me, though, won't you, Mr. Knight?" Shiki says, as if her stuffed animal didn't just tear a Dream Eater's head off. —Riku, Shiki.


**Notes: **Written quickly because the KH3D trailer is fabulous and because this ship needs to have some fan material immediately.

_Kingdom Hearts _is property of Square Enix and Disney; _The World Ends with You _is property of Square Enix; my ridiculous fangirly giggles when I saw the Shiki and Riku interaction in the KH3D trailer are my own; my inability to finish any multichapter fic is to be blamed on the muse fairy.

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><p><em> First Time for Everything <em>

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><p>Riku doesn't think he's ever really talked to a girl before.<p>

Well, okay, he's talked to Kairi, but she doesn't count because she's, well, _Kairi_. And Naminé doesn't count because she's Kairi, too, and then there's Selphie, he supposes, but Selphie's always been more of a man than either Tidus or Wakka, and… yeah, when it comes down to it, this, right here, right now, is an entirely new experience for him.

Why does everything having to do with the keyblade have to be so _complicated_? Why isn't it ever 'kill heartless, save Sora's butt, go home'?

"Whoa!" the girls shouts when he accidentally bumps into her, and he turns and finds himself face-to-face with some sort of black monster thing—something halfway between a Dream Eater and a Heartless and maybe crossbred with a pig, but whatever it is, _what the—_

Riku yells and leaps back a foot or two and his keyblade materializes in his hands—but once he realizes the full picture, sees the girl who goes from screaming to giggling, sees the stuffed animal in her arms, he relaxes himself and lets the keyblade disappear. He's certain he doesn't lose too much of his masculine credibility because _okay_, that was _scary_, and he wasn't expecting anyone to be there at all, so he has an excuse if she decides to point out that Riku's a sixteen-year-old boy who just screamed at the sight of a stuffed animal.

His embarrassment doesn't subside when her giggles calm down and she smiles, cocks her head to the side, and says sweetly, like they aren't in Traverse Town, like she's just moved to his school and wants to know where the attendance office is, "Why, hello there."

He really doesn't know what he's supposed to say, so he says nothing—strange for him, he thinks, because he's usually too impulsive when he meets someone new—and opts instead to take her in.

She's got the brightest pink hair he's ever seen, and that's saying something, considering he's met Kairi and Marluxia, but it, along with the hat she's sporting on top of it, suits her, matches her bright eyes. She's dressed in attire he wouldn't be surprised to see at home, on the Destiny Islands, but here in Traverse Town there's always a strange, otherworldly chill that runs through his skin and he's surprised she isn't freezing. Her features are soft and her face heart-shaped, and her smile is the perfect reflection of a girl back home that he'd thought until now was unlike any other, except older by maybe a year or two.

She frowns at his lack of reply. "Um, you there?" she tries again, moving closer and waving her hand in front of his face. Riku shakes his head and takes another step back, and the first thing his eyes fall on again is the stuffed animal in her arms and the first stupid thing that slips out of his tongue isn't the logical, 'Why are you here' or 'Who are you'. Instead, Riku points to the girl's inanimate companion and ventures: "What _is _that thing?"

Nonplussed, she looks at the toy in her arms and back at Riku. "Mr. Mew?" she asks, and it takes Riku a moment to realize that she's asking him if _Mr. Mew _is what he means, that _Mr. Mew _is that… thing's name.

Riku nods.

The girl looks put out and sighs, like it's a question she's used to being asked and a little sick of answering, but she doesn't chastise him. She holds the toy out to her stranger and says, grinning, "He's a cat, and his name's Mr. Mew!" She pauses, about to give him to the boy to hold, and realizing that Riku isn't very competent in holding conversation, she's about to contribute her name, too, when suddenly there's a crash from behind her and both of their attentions are diverted to the source. Upon turning they see two little critters squirming around and grinning maliciously; they're immediately identified as enemies and Riku whips out his keyblade for the second time and sets out to work, while the girl, who looked like she was about to do something to handle them herself, notices his talent and stands back to watch. There's a squabble, and Riku dispatches the enemies with grace and relative ease before turning, once more, to the girl, who's clapping and cheering him on.

"Nice!" she exclaims, and Riku's immediately reminded of a cheerleader when she jumps up and down. "Wow, you did quite a number on the Dream Eaters!"

"It's because they're not the boss," Riku supplies, as he walks back to her and the keyblade disappears again. "I was looking for it when I bumped into you, um…"

"Shiki," she introduces.

"Shiki," says Riku, and doesn't think to introduce himself. He thinks suddenly: "…Um, what exactly are you doing here? Traverse Town is a place where—"

"I know," she says, cutting him off, and there's a flash of sadness in her eyes when she does, but just as quickly as it appears it's gone, and she says brightly, "I'm on a mission."

"A mission?"

"Yup! You mentioned looking for something—my partner and I are here looking for something, too." She frowns, brings a finger to her chin and looks into a distance, supposedly deep in thought. "But… we were separated when one of the monsters attacked, and I can't find him."

"Partner?" asks Riku, thinking immediately of Sora. "You lost someone, too?" He wonders if maybe Shiki's partner and Sora are somewhere together, if they should team up and search for them.

"Yeah," says Shiki, and she arches her neat eyebrows, speaks Riku's thoughts in her own bright words: "Hey, do you think that our friends might be together?" The idea seems to gather support in her head before he can respond, and she tacks on, "Maybe if we search together, we can find them!"

"Sounds plausible," he says, but just as he's about to say something else another enemy appears, and he's just taken out his keyblade when Shiki shakes her head, drops Mr. Mew on the floor, and the thing becomes _sentient_ and _tackles the monster_, effectively killing it. Riku's jaw nearly hits the floor, and for the third time his keyblade disappears and he wonders just who exactly this innocent looking Shiki girl is as she scoops the doll back into her arms and winks at him.

"You'll protect lil'old me, though, won't you, Mr. Knight?" Shiki says, as if her stuffed animal didn't just tear a Dream Eater's head off, and he swears that perched in her grip, Mr. Mew winks, too.

"Kn-knight?" splutters Riku, flustered, because, um, where did _that_ come from, _and what exactly was up with that cat_? "I'm no such thing!"

She laughs, a good-natured melodious thing that reflects sea breeze and salt and Riku wonders if she's not just a product of his imagination on the exam. "Who are you, then?" she asks. "You haven't introduced yourself."

"Oh." He feels stupid. His cheeks feel red. He's trying not to let his eyes divert back to Mr. Mew. "Riku."

"Riku, huh?" she tries, following him as he leads them into an alley, his eyes trailing on the girl behind him and the strange stuffed animal in her arms. "Cute name."


End file.
